By Alycia Kaback

As you all know, I attended the 50th Anniversary of John Glenn’s historic flight aboard Friendship 7 this past week and so I wanted to share a wonderful conversation I had with a remarkable individual whom I met at the NASA Future Forum.

I had the pleasure to speak with one of the NASA’s department heads for a few moments and we touched on a variety of topics, including fun and creative ways The IT Factor could deliver the message of the importance of science and math to both the children and adults we will be working with through the launch of the Alycia Kaback Talent Academy. If you are not familiar with the Academy, I explained it to NASA like this: it will be the first and only online classroom based learning platform for talent. With lectures and advice on topics such as music, acting, modeling and producing, the Academy will cover all aspects of the industry at zero cost to both our talent and members of the public with a serious attitude. For the first time people with a dream will have a platform to learn­­ from real people in the industry and not risk being “scammed” into paying thousands of dollars for worthless classes or pictures that no one will ever see­. At this point in our conversation, my new friend was very impressed with everything we have accomplished in such a short time frame and wanted to help in any way he could. He had some truly amazing ideas for me.

While speaking about the Academy and the day’s events, an interesting topic came up– people who don’t share the same vision of what it is that we do. Apparently NASA encounters as many skeptics as we do here, at The IT Factor. Even the head of NASA runs into naysayers who question the integrity of the agency or the benefits of the products that have been developed from discoveries made in space research. Items such as GPS’s and cell phone cameras are just two, amongst thousands of other everyday items, that came from the space program and impact all of our lives on a daily basis. Did you know every shuttle mission has almost 100 experiments that can possibly lead to life changing products and ideas for the world?

Believe it or not – NASA even has a Twitter stalker known as­ ‘NASA watch’ that posed some silly questions via Twitter during The Event Celebrating John Glenn’s legacy on the 50th anniversary of his orbit. Worse, there were people in the audience who were mumbling whether or not the moon landing was real, backing the question up with “Well, I did some research online and read it was not true.” I figured what better person to ask for advice then the person who deals with the “moon conspiracy” people for a living. This NASA administrator and his collegues’ response was quite awakening to say the least.

These NASA heroes, when posed with such a absurd questions, merely smile at these people and answer the question with the basic facts, knowing full well these individuals arrived already knowing the answer and most likely, saying to themselves, “Yea but they are in on it too.” What I was amazed to discover though, is my new friend likes to refer to these types of people as “enthusiasts.”­

Enthusiasts! Interesting word I said to myself, not morons or lunatics, but enthusiasts? So I asked him why he calls them ‘enthusiasts’ of all things? The answer was truly enlightening: he believes that even though these “critics” are obviously uneducated, they still are a part of what NASA does. Their criticisms, though obviously not offered with the best of intentions, still have a value and despite the fact that they maybe wrong 99.9% of the time, every once in a while, they point out something that can be done better. Now these “Enthusiasts” are not given credit of course, as they would probably be insulted if offered, but they are often the ones who help make important and vital changes.

Just like any other major company we need to be aware of how to identify a mentally unstable individual, who my be an actual danger versus an “enthusiast” with a fixation against public figures or companies. The “dangerous or mentally unstable people” are the ones who need to be handled by the police. Otherwise, I do agree that in a company meeting or even when simply taking a message, these individuals should be known as “enthusiasts” rather then a derogatory term. For example, if the VP asks who called today, the response would be “You had three messages, two from clients who had a question I did not know the answer to and one from an ‘Enthusiast’ who wanted to voice an opinion or speak to someone about a concern.”

We should not refer to them directly as an “Enthusiast,” as they would sincerely disagree, but rather within the confines of our corporate language, so that we know in a instant where this person stands and are prepared to help them to the best of our ability. Yes, these people have a difference of opinion, but 99.9% them are not dangerous. In fact, these “enthusiasts” are named as such precisely because they watch every single video, read every single blog post, and can therefore offer beneficial insight on how the company is run.

For example, back in the beginning, when the company was solely based on hosting networking events, “enthusiasts” would complain we were not a real agency. This was true—we never managed anyone’s career, we acted as a platform for people to meet potential managers. One day, I said to myself, with all the industry contacts, casting directors, and producers we, as a company, have become connected with through hosting VIP Talent Connect Summits, why don’t we just give the “enthusiasts” what they want and open up a management company? Thus, Kaback Model Management and Colby Models was born.

Many of The IT Factor’s best and most respected products were born this way: Even the Women’s Empowerment Summit, which is still considered one of the best and most professional platforms for women in business to network, as well as the original concept of both the radio and television show. These programs came about as a way to help better educate the public about our brand and the industry. Now we are so much better for it. So next time a new hire in training or a recently signed talent refers to something they heard or read online, just say, “Great!” Then explain to the new hires, “We like to call those people ‘enthusiasts.’ Let me tell you why– most likely, if it was not for them, you and I wouldn’t be here today. If not for our loyal and successful supporters as well as the 1% of new innovations suggested by ‘enthusiasts,’ The IT Factor would not be what it is today, the leading event and talent management company, helping talent find the most trusted success in the industry.”

To read more about skeptics check out these two articles – Do models need social intelligence? and Dumbest Model in Philadelphia.

To sign-up for modeling, acting and or music please visit The It Factor Productions at http://www.theitfactorproductions.com